The Worst of All Possible Worlds

209 - My Cousin Vinny

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The lads hop in their 1964 metallic mint-green Buick Skylarks and get arrested for murder as they cover Jonathan Lynn’s 1992 legal comedy: My Cousin Vinny. Topics include the Era of the Screenplay, the film’s dedication to legal procedure, and the unspeakable cinematic power of having Marisa Tomei talk about tire-tracks.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• My Cousin Vinny. Dir. Jonathan Lynn. 1992.
• Abnormal Interviews: “My Cousin Vinny Director Jonathan Lynn” by Nick Farr. March 13th, 2012.
• Dale Launer’s Incredible Website
• ‘WHAT IS A YUTE?’: AN ORAL HISTORY OF ‘MY COUSIN VINNY’ by Andy Greene. Rolling Stone. March 7th, 2022.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “A Phone Call From The Southern Baptist Correctional Facility” // Written by A.J. Ditty and Tony Ditty // feat. A.J. Ditty as “A.J. Ditty”, Eleanor Philips as “Denise”, and Tony Ditty as “Tony Ditty: Lawyer and A.J.’s Actual Father”

Fancy Movie Time #33: Yi Yi

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On this episode of Fancy Movie Time with Brian and A.J., the Fancy Lads head to Taipei and dance with the pigeon man as they cover Edward Yang's coming-of-age drama Yi Yi (2000). Do the film's novelistic approach and impeccable characterizations make it a Fancy Feast? Or does its vibes-based tone and myriad of plots make it a Failure to Fancy? One thing's for sure: Mr. Fancymovietime DEFINITELY got his union card.

On the next episode of Fancy Movie Time with Brian and A.J.: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

208 - Bar Rescue (feat. Slowpuke)

Slowpuke (SlowpukeLIVE) and the lads stake out a bar and scream in the faces of undiagnosed alcoholics as we cover Jon Taffer’s hit reality-television show: Bar Rescue. Topics include Taffer’s self-aggrandized past, the ethics of robot performers, and what it means to watch a man transform a bar from terrible to an entirely different kind of terrible.

 

Slowpuke: Twitch // Bluesky // Instagram

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Bar Rescue
  • S02E01: “Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Dumb”
  • S03E11: “Don’t Mess with Taffer’s Wife”
  • S02E22: “Punch-Drunk and Trailer-Trashed”
  • S04E25: “Sticky Situation”
• Bar 702 (Sand Dollar) From Bar Rescue Has Been Sold by Matt. Barrescueupdates.com. June 22nd, 2014.
• Breaking News - Spike TV Picks Up New Original Series, "Bar Rescue" and "Repo Games" | TheFutonCritic.com. January 1st, 2011.
• Council Bluffs police investigating shooting at O'Face Bar by KMTV News. 3 News Now. February 27th, 2021.
• Domestic Violence Case Dismissed by Staff Consortium. The Virgin Islands Consortium. March 19th, 2021.
• How "Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer helped changed the way we watch the NFL by Aaron Torres. Fox Sports. January 7th, 2014.
• jon taffer spaceship robot story
• Second arrest made in connection to weekend shooting outside Council Bluffs bar by First Alert 6 Staff. First Alert 6. March 25th, 2025.
• Wilkes Assault Lawsuit

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Bar Rescue Jr.” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. Josh Boerman as “Aggressive Narrator”, Slowpuke as “Mrs. Cunningham/Molly Cunningham”, and A.J. Ditty as “Jon Taffer/Customer”

207 - Newgrounds and Flash Games

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The lads boot up Newgrounds and take The Impossible Quiz as they dive into the bizarre and labyrinthine world of the bread and butter of the Web 2.0: Flash Games. Topics include the origins of Newgrounds, the boundless creativity (and trolling) of the flash scene, and what it means to be the lead gay technician of one of the most influential flash games of all time.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• The Games:
  • Pico’s School by Tom Fulp
  • SimGirls by sim-man
  • N by Metanet Software
  • The Crimson Room by Toshimitsu Takagi
  • Bloons TD by Ninja Kiwi
  • The Impossible Quiz by Splapp-me-do
  • Nanaca Crash! By Unknown
  • Canabalt by Adam Saltsman
  • Robot Unicorn Attack by Spititonin Media Games
• Newgrounds Wiki - TomFulp
• From the IAmA community on Reddit: Tom Fulp
• Newgrounds Wiki - History
• How Flash games shaped the video game industry by Jonas Richner. Flashgamehistory.com.
• Flashpoint Archive

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Pages 13-21 of ‘The Hidden Enemy’” // Written and Performed by Josh Boerman // Music by Wendy Carlos

206 - Eugene: Monk (feat. Joe Kassabian) [Whit’s Endless Summer 46]

Joe Kassabian (Lions Led By Donkeys) joins the lads in Odyssey for further adventures in monastic life, missionary work, and the dreaded attraction between cousins. Topics include evangelical views of Catholicism, the blatantly political work of missionaries, and why cruelty begetting cruelty is at the heart of the Evangelical project.

 

Joe Kassabian: Bluesky // Twitter

 

Lions Led by Donkeys: The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict.

Patreon // Youtube // Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Instagram

 

STREAMING TICKETS FOR LIONS LED BY DONKEYS LIVE FROM GLASGOW

 

Media Referenced in Episode:

• Adventures in Odyssey
  • #366: “Solitary Refinement”
  • #377: “Just Say Yes”
  • #384: “Amazing Grace”
  • #91: “A Mission for Jimmy”

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “Thirteen Madmen for Twenty-One Monks on the Nineteenth of April at the End of the 20th Century” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. A.J. Ditty as “Estragon Estragonov/Melvin Mulligan/Phoebear”

205 - Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

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The lads take a walk through this beautiful world and feel the cool rain on their shoulders as they cover Anthony Bourdain’s award-winning CNN travelogue: Parts Unknown. Topics include Bourdain’s rise to prominence, his successes and failures as a documentarian, and the complex legacy of one of the most prolific observers of the modern world.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
  • Season 2, Episode 2: “Jerusalem”
  • Season 2, Episode 9: “Detroit”
  • Season 6, Episode 7: “Borneo”
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
  • Season 1, Episode 4: “Malaysia: Into the Jungle”
• Kitchen Confidential: Adventure in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain. Bloomsbury Press. 2000.
• Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain. Ecco. 2010.
• “Anthony Bourdain obituary” by Tim Hayward. The Guardian. June 9th, 2018.
• Bourdain’s Tumblr Post “Fighting Mad”
• “Don’t Eat Before Reading This” by Anthony Bourdain. New Yorker. April 19th, 1999.
• “New Yorker Editor David Remnick on Anthony Bourdain” by Matt Buchanan. Eater. June 8th, 2018.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Anthony Ditty: Parts Known: Escondido, CA” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring A.J. Ditty as “Anthony Ditty/Producer/Dustin Bendin”

204 - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The lads throw back some drinks and bray the night away as they cover Edward Albee’s 1962 nightcap from hell: Who’s Afraid of Virignia Woolf? Topics include Albee’s traumatizing childhood, the music of his dialogue, and the boomer mentality of being afraid of Virginia Woolf.

 

Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!

 

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee. 1962.
• “Edward Albee, The Art of Theater No. 4” Interviewed by William Flanagan. The Paris Review. Issue 39. Fall 1966.
• Edward Albee: A Singular Journey by Mel Gussow. Applause Books. 2000.
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Original Cast Recording. Columbia Records. 1963.
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Dir. Mike Nichols. 1966.

 

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

 

Interstitial: “The Autograph Theatre Company’s Season Announcement: The Unproduced Plays of Edward Albee” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. Josh Boerman as “Daddy/Albee”, Anne Huston as “Mommy”, David Armstrong as “Irish Priest”, Eleanor Philips as “Mrs. Wife/Sea Monster”, and A.J. Ditty as “Announcer/Tiniest Alice/Mr. Husband”

EMERGENCY POD - Dobson Died, Dead Dobson

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall

Well, the dude croaked.

https://jamesdobsonmemorial.com

203 - The Sweatbox/The Emperor’s New Groove

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The lads grab their pencils and go back to the drawing board as they cover the never released behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of The Emperor’s New Groove: The Sweatbox. Topics include the history of Disney animation, the similarities between the animating and acting life, and what it means to make art while walking the llama-llama and taking in the panorama.

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• The Sweatbox. Dir. Trudy Styler. 2000.
• The Emperor’s New Groove. Dir. Mark Dindal. 2000.
• “An Oral History of Disney’s ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’” by Bilge Ebiri. Vulture. July 26th, 2024.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Sting: The Kingdom of the Sun Sessions” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring A.J. Ditty as “Sting/Announcer”

202 - Steven Spielberg’s The Dig

The lads grab their engraved rods and play with some loose bones as they cover the LucasArts’ 1995 xenoarchaeologist point-and-click adventure: The Dig. Topics include the gaming prowess of Steven Spielberg, the incredibly fraught production process, and what it means to have have a point and click adventure imprint upon you as a child that requires you to turn a turtle into a bomb.

Want more TWOAPW? Get access to our full back catalogue of premium/bonus episodes by subscribing for $5/month at Patreon.com/worstofall!

Media Referenced in this Episode:

• The Dig. LucasArts. 1995.
• A Conversation with Gary Brubaker. Tech Talk with Daniel Albu. April 6th, 2025.
• “The Dig is a weird LucasArts adventure dreamed up by Steven Spielberg” by Andy Kelly. PC Gamer. May 15th, 2020.
• The Dig by Jimmy Maher. Digital Antiquarian. July 23rd. 2021.
• “Exclusive Interview with Noah Falstein” by Santiago Mendez. The Dig Museum. December 27th, 2004.
• “Interview with Brian Moriarty” by Paco García. Aventura y CÍA. March 2006.
• “LucasArts Secret History #11: The Dig Bills Tiller and Eaken”. The International House of Mojo.
• “LucasArts Secret History #11: The Dig Sean Clark’s Recollections of Joy”. The International House of Mojo.
• Original Design Document for The Dig
• “So, a Giant Asteroid is Heading for Earth…Again…” by Luke Plunkett. Kotaku. November 2nd, 2011.
• “Steven Spielberg Apparently Won’t Play Uncharted Because He’s a Big PC Gamer and Only Likes Mouse and Keyboard” by Kat Bailey. IGN. October 2nd, 2024.

TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com

Interstitial: “Brink” // Written by A.J. Ditty // Featuring A.J. Ditty as “Professor Ludger Brink”